Just an unbelievable show. The electric sets are fierce and sublime. The mind wondrin review might be the dumbest thing I ever read.

Just average 1970?? Just GOGD?? Dancin' never really lifts off? TIFTOO just a basic 70 run through? What planet are you living on? TIFTOO is the single best version I've ever heard, and so is Dancin' -- much better than the subsequent MIT rendition. VLB -- again, a candidate for best ever. There may be better Good Lovin's out there, but this one is excellent as well.

If you think for one second about the entirety of the Archive; millions of songs at your disposal, virtually everything seamless from phone to computer, and the ability to capture for yourself some semblance of a collection in an aging digital world.
To wander aimlessly is absolute ignorance. You must intentionally decide on carrying through the mystery web with some kind of light, otherwise you are bound to get lost in a parade of decadence.
Relax...you have managed to find one of those tapes which actually drip magic from it's timbre. You've done it, now sit back and enjoy :)
Peace To All Human Beings

This show had great relevance back when it was one of a few - or the only - '70 show in many collections (and the only 4-setter). The day before is a better show, but this show still has historical trade/nostalgia value. It was ubiquitous in the time of B & P; we all had it (if rarely traded complete). It was entertaining because the band sounded different than '71, and because this had one acoustic set, one NRPS set with Dead members, and two regular sets. The "acoustic" set is great. The electric sets are average '70, now that we have access to so many. Weirdly, this has always been called "Harpur College, Binghamton". There WAS a college by that name, but in '61 it was moved to Vestal NY and then became SUNY Binghamton. This show was actually in the "West Gym @SUNY Binghamton, Vestal". Tapes were usually FM-sourced or from a popular vinyl bootleg, "Cowboy's Dead" (which may have started the "Harpur" thing on its cover). Side 1 has Deep River Blues [sic]/Candyman/Cumberland/Cosmic Charlie. Side 2 has TOO, and the rear cover has its lyrics, wrongly ("She layed [sic] on me this drug" & "Into strawberry fields"). The SBD is better balanced than the official release. The electric sets were recorded in mono.
First Set. This set made the show well-regarded. They are excited to present their newly written Americana, and it ranges from average to sublime, though you can't always hear Phil, Billy or Pig - who were onstage. The first two are average versions but this is a quintessential Friend of the Devil. Think how exciting it was to hear this in this arrangement before the album release. Dire Wolf is likewise a treat. After a fine Beat it On Down the Line-8, Black Peter is a solid version, but a straight read, with no fireworks. Due to a reel flip, most of Candyman is missing. The OFF uses the first 1:44, then does a smash cut into Cumberland. The latter is superb. Phil & Jer are both now on electric, while D. Nelson & Bobby remain acoustic. Marmaduke comes out to sing Jordan (one of the best versions), and Jer switches back to acoustic for an Uncle John's that's hotter than soup. You are getting these in their original, acoustic, harmonizing settings, before the albums were out.
Second Set. Much of Saint Stephen is cut on all sources, w/about 2: 20 missing. The Other One Suite is the average '70 run-through, and GOGD. Cosmic Charlie is a solid version but things slide back from there. Casey Jones is straight, an album-promo version; Good Lovin' is likewise basic (not one of the '70 standouts). The SBD has a reel flip @9:36, with probably less than half a minute missing. The OFF is missing that, plus makes an edit @9:05, missing another 19secs of the SBD. Cold Rain & Snow starts out of tune, and the rest is half sour/half trainwreck. It was left off the OFF. Pigpen did It's a Man's World 14 times in the middle of '70. This one's OK, but not, say, 4/15. Dancing in the Streets is a lot of waiting for the jam to really lift off (unlike 4/12 or 4/15). It never really does, though it doesn't really disappoint. There's a Sputnik quote @11:40. The reel runs out at the very end (the OFF has an edit @14:51, switching to 8secs of 4/12).
Third Set. More of a short set than a long encore. Morning Dew isn't the punchiest version but you do get some fireworks at the very end. The are only 6 examples of Viola Lee in '70 - this ranks in the middle. Basic GOGD. Feedback is very short - which works. Bid You Good Night isn't the year's best but imagine it in person.
1st Set:  B+
2nd Set: C
3rd Set:  C+
Overall = 3 stars
Highlights:
Friend of the Devil - a version as classic as 11/8
Dire Wolf - often considered a top example of acoustic arrangement
Cumberland Blues - with Phil & Jer amplified
Jordan - guest spot for Marmaduke is sibling to 5/15
Uncle John's Band - great original arrangement/harmonizing
SOURCES: The 138227_sbd_miller is balanced, normalized, and pitched. Other are incomplete and/or have various issues. Dick's 8 has most of the show, with a few edits and a missing track (and no NRPS). Disc 2 was mastered too fast and needs -2% pitch correction. The other two discs are just slightly fast and need -1%, plus some balance.

However, WHO labled the set-lists????? "St. Stephen > DRUMS>..." ["drums"not listed here, above..
GREAT SOUND THOUGH !!! JUST LISTEN, ...
PLAY DEAD !!!!!

Classic.

This 37 song show cost $5 to get in!
Worth repeating: "I call that a bargain, the best I ever had!"
By the way: this show was basically in the middle of nowhere in upstate NY, smack dab in the center of NY State and far from everywhere except central NY. If I had a time machine I wouldn't go back to see the dinosaurs but I WOULD GO TO THIS SHOW!

Sounds great. Love having the entire show.

This is the real GD show. You got a intimate surrounding and the boys felt nice and comfy. Early acoustic GD with some help by the Riders. Then it is reversed with the Riders with some help from the Dead. " Thank you boys "
Garcia telling the small crowd " we got you all night "
Electric Dead comes on and away we go.
Closing with Viola into We Bid You....
If you wanted a time capsule of what it was like in 1970 tour this is the show to go to. Relaxed, funny, cosmic , and funky . Have fun.

Attended many shows between 69-73 and scattered shows after that. I listen to the GD essentially every day and Harpur gets played in the highest rotation. I just keep coming back to it and finding new things to admire. I dearly love every song. Lately it’s occured to me that the DITS is just sublime! Thanks to everyone who made this miracle of a show possible.

One of the all-time greats. Check it out if you haven't already.

Time and time again, when it's either too much from the night before, or too much Uncle Cid swimmin around, this is the show, the only sound I can bear.... When you cannot hold your coffee mug, that acoustic set is as good as pain meds! When you are pacing and hallucinating, let Jerry take you over the mountain, the electric set is a journey, my friend.
Having now heard so many shows that we didn't easily have back in the day, I can compare the cream of the crop. Hard to match a room full of college aged acid freaks mind melting en masse! Charlie Miller, you have the ears like Owsley...endless thanks to you!